Summer Camp
by slave2myfantasy
Summary: Nana Kanzaki is new money, like a brand new, crisp, uncomfortably stiff dollar bill. She and her lifelong friend Emiko are attending the summer-long Camp Gakure; glamorous summer camp for teenagers belonging to the wealthiest families around. Will she last the summer in a camp full of rich kids? And why does this bushy-browed kid make her so nervous?
1. May 9

The smell of heavy-duty gasoline mixes with the butterflies in my stomach, and it makes me even sicker than I already was. As I relax on the vinyl bus seat, I glance out the dusty window at my mother. She was practically glued to the side of the bus, in tears- I wondered if she could feel the summer sun baking the metallic siding. My thighs immediately sear onto the plasticky seat; I'd need a spatula to scrape them off later.

Nouveau riche. That's what this felt like. This strange mixture of forced belonging and standing out like a black and blue thumb.

"Hey, earth to Nana." My friend, whose thighs were also melting onto the hot seats, cuts into my thoughts. The bus driver finally climbs into his shiny chrome bullet and cranks the AC- several kids in the back sigh in relief. My blonde friend tries to make eye contact again. "Are you ready? Did you pack everything?"

"Yeah, Emiko, I got it all." I let a smile worm its way across my face, just managing to fit underneath my huge dark circles.

"You look like hell." Emiko sips a juice box from her bag. It's the gross generic lemonade she seems to like. "Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Yeah, not really." I fidget with my skirt- a brand new tennis skirt my mom purchased for just this occasion. I can still hear her trying to make excited conversation outside the glass and steel. "I'm pretty nervous."

"Don't be. Summer camp is gonna be great. And it's the whole summer too... So it'll be like that gap year you wanted." She crushes the box, having already swallowed its entire contents.

"Except not at all." I snort. "I wanted to get a little apartment on the coast and write a book, not spend the entire summer at a 'Glamping' site."

"Look, this is good for us." Emiko leans back- she doesn't get far, due to her short nature. "You can write your book there. I'm sure they have wifi and electricity. Rich kids can't live without those."

I watch some of the noted rich kids file onto the bus- some of them I recognized from magazines and web articles. There was a well-known rosette that had just come aboard, chattering with a blonde. Both had been on the cover of Teen Rogue at one point or another.

Emiko grins up at them optimistically- a poor choice that reflected on their faces as they pointedly ignore her.

"Ehh... Give it time." I mumble as Emi huffs. "We /are/ kind of intruding."

"We belong here just as much as the rest of them!" She reaches into her backpack to snatch out a bag of potato chips and breaks them open violently. "Just cuz I don't have a cover on Teen Rogue doesn't mean my net worth is..."

Her voice trails out of my ears as I catch sight of a group of boys that shove their way on, laughing about something. One has a suspicious lump in the front of a coat he's got zipped to his chin- it's making him sweat bullets, but he wears it anyway. The two other boys shove him and laugh as he barks at them to stop, or he'll trip.

Emiko notices I've stopped listening, and follows my line of sight.

"Oh~ He's kinda cute~" She teases. I choke on air, my throat closing so suddenly that it cuts off my protest and I cough wildly.

"I-" I wheeze softly, snatching the crumpled juice box. "Am NOT interested!" I toss it weakly as I double back over in a mixture of nervous laughter and coughing. Emi dodges easily, and it bounces off a certain boy's leg: the one that had originally snatched my attention.

He wasn't exactly handsome, his eyes were pretty round and his brows took up a good third of his forehead. But I had seen him on several different martial arts websites, wearing medals upon medals upon medals. His name was foreign... Rock something.

But the offending juice cartridge doesn't even catch his attention. Instead, his eyes were locked on the rosette from before, as his hands fumbled around in his pockets dumbly.

"S-Sakura!" He calls, pushing past the two boys with a gleaming grin on his face. Emiko's eyes slide over to watch my reaction to the scene as it goes down:

"What, Lee?" The girl asks- she coats her tone in syrup, but even that doesn't disguise how sharp it is. Lee doesn't seem to notice, holding out a little bear in his palm. It's pink, like her hair, and has a single cherry blossom pattern seen on its belly.

"I found this! It reminded me of you, so I brought it!"

I haven't even known these people for 10 minutes and already the butterflies in my stomach have transformed into little pinpricks of envy. I can feel my lower lip twist just a little as I settle back into my seat- I don't want to watch any more. Emiko keeps her neck craned, observing the rest:

"Oh. How cute." Sakura plasters a sweet smile on her face, and takes it, putting it in her bag quickly. "Thank you."

Lee turns pink, the giddiness lighting his face up like a billboard. He was so easy to read, it was almost sad.

"So how about that dat-"

"Hey, Sakura, check out this boudoir shoot my agent had me do!" The blonde shoves her phone in Sakura's face, and the pinkette, all too eager for the distraction, takes it, returning to her chatter.

Lee's face crumbles, and he opens his mouth to try and get her attention once more, but then thinks better of it and heaves a long, quiet sigh. He returns to his friends, and the lumpy boy pats Lee's back gently.

"... Wow." Emiko mouths, before sitting back against the plastic seat. "That was a TRAIN wreck."

I gasp quietly and swat her arm, shushing her. "That is so damn rude!"

"Hey, you should get him off the rebound~ He must be pretty lonely now that sugar queen shot him down~" she teases, pinching my side. I go bright red- was it THAT obvious I was into him?

The bus suddenly lurches forward. It was time to leave, and I could hear my mom wailing things like 'Make sure you take pictures!' and 'Call me when you get the chance!' She would be calling me frantically tomorrow, I could already tell.

"Look, Emi, he's cute, but let him be sad!" I mumble, trying to keep my voice down. Her eyes shine as she jabs my side with a finger. She liked to think she was psychic about these things... And admittedly, she was usually right.

"You admit it!" She purrs, a dumb smile cracking her face right in half. "Aww, that's so cute~"

My face goes bright red, and I sigh harshly enough that it fogs the window. "God, are we in middle school?"

Quietly, I turn to glance over at him— he was just behind us, head slumped against the back of our seat. He's so close I can smell his cologne. It coats my tongue and makes my throat go dry with nerves. Emiko notices me freeze in my seat and decides to take things into her hands. Before I can stop her, she turns onto her knees and rolls her chin along the top of the seat.

"Hey! I'm Emiko!" He looks up at her in a little surprise, but then a blinding smile flashes across his face, and he sits up. Goddamn, his shoulders are broad…

"My name is Rock Lee! You can call me Lee… and you may hear Naruto call me 'Bushy Brow.'" A little flush of embarrassment at his nickname brushes his cheeks, and my heart nearly stops. Woah, down girl. I swivel my head to face the window, my cheeks flushing so full of blood my cheeks go stiff. This doesn't go unnoticed.

"Is your friend carsick?" He asks, concern evident in his voice. I cringe internally. He thinks I'm carsick….

"Nah, I think she's lovesi—" I subtly pinch Emiko's exposed thigh, making sure my nails bite into her skin. "AH! L-l-l-loving the c-car ride a lot! She just wants to—oww! Enjoy the scenery!"

I scoff. She was such a bad liar— there was barely anything to see other than bill boards and city scraping by as we headed up toward the mountains.

"Oh, yes! I also enjoy the scenery!" He seems to buy it, and Emiko stifles a laugh. I'm bright red and silent; biting my lip so hard I can feel it start to bruise. It wasn't that boys made me nervous at all… which is why I was nervous. I'm nervous /because/ I'm nervous. Why was I so jittery? What was this boy doing to me, and how could I stop it?

Frustration at myself and at this boy weaves questions around my brain like cobwebs, and I let myself stop thinking as we whizz through the countryside. The bus's air conditioner was finally cooling us off, and I can feel my skin prick with goose bumps as Emiko shares her backpack full of snacks with me. She yammers on about how she deserved to be at this camp as much as anyone in this bus, despite being 'new to the money'. It was kind of obvious she was trying to convince herself rather than me, so I let her keep talking. The boy with the lumpy jacket reveals that he snuck in a puppy he was training when it throws up on his lap.

This bus ride was supposed to be 3 hours long, but it clips by in what seems like a few minutes. We leave the city in seconds, fly through the multicolored farmland and into the deeper forest within the blink of an eye. I can't deal with my chest clamping down on itself as this Lee boy talked with his friends— I glean from conversation that the dog boy was Kiba, and the blonde boy was Naruto.

As we pull up into the campsite, my heart is just finally starting to relax. The bus is starting to get rowdy— the AC was doing nothing to stifle the smell of boys, junk food and expensive perfume. Emiko starts packing up wrappers and ripped up packaging, and we all shuffle together off the bus in a big, teenage herd. We stop in front of two men, who look at us all.

"Welcome to Camp Gakure!" One booms. "My name is Iruka! This is Kakashi! We're your Site Leaders, and we run the camp!" He smiles widely; it's a practiced smile that's excited, but well worn. The man next to him was wearing a surgical mask, and his eyes were lazily cast on a book in his hands. He addresses us without looking up.

"You lucky lot are a part of our Konoha division. We have another division called Suna across the lake. You might see them around, but please don't go over there." He drawls. "You'll be divided into cabins Ka, Fu, Rai, Do, and Sui. Head over to the main cabin to find your camper card, card lanyard, handbook and cabin assignment. There's not too many of you this summer so we're not using Sui Cabin, thank god..."

They drone on a bit more about the rules, and how much fun everyone was going to have. We're all a little antsy to just get to our cabins. Our bags were being towed from the bus by college kids all wearing the same bland uniform. Some were grumbling about the busy work, but what did they expect? These were the richest kids in the area, and they were probably being paid bank to counsel here…

I glance around the group, making sure my eyes skim over Lee as I take everyone in. A big guy with red hair, a skinny guy with droopy eyes and a man bun, a very straight laced looking fella with long hair in a tight ponytail, a lanky guy in sunglasses, a really handsome guy with shaggy black hair, Naruto, Kiba, a pretty girl with brown hair in mouse ear buns, a timid girl with raven hair and pale blue eyes, the blonde and rosette, and someone with really short, mousy brown hair and glasses. I can't really tell if it's a guy or a girl... I'm curious, but not stupid enough to straight out ask.

As the group breaks to head for the office, I notice Naruto staring right at them. Oh no, he wasn't...

He trots toward the person, and taps their shoulder. "Hey, are you a guy or a chick?"

Some nearby people stop to be nosy- I guess they had been wondering too. I find myself just as curious as they were, so I shouldn't be calling the kettle black, but it would be useful information, I reassure myself. The person stares at him blankly, and then continues walking.

"H-hey! Wait up! You don't wanna tell me?" Naruto chases after them a little, before the handsome guy grabs his shoulder.

"Leave her alone." He murmurs.

My cheeks go red from secondhand embarrassment, and I scurry past them, Emiko in tow.

"How did he know she's a girl? Is she a girl?" Emiko looks up at me, and I shrug.

"I don't really care." I lie.

We exit the early summer heat into stale air that smells like copiers and fresh staples mixed with old coffee. The office is bland compared to the vivid greenery outside; the walls are a dull pale blue and the desks are chipped and scratched on the fake wooden surfaces. Two guys sit behind the desks, labeled 'Girls' and 'Boys.' I notice the figure from before in the 'girls' line- looks like handsome-dude was right.

"Last name?" The guy behind the desk asks as she approaches. He's got dark skin and scars from stitches all over- his green eyes are intense and a little scary.

"Hanashi." Her voice is flat and unfazed by the brute behind the desk. "First name Kei."

He flicks easily through the box of folders in front of him, pulling one out and handing it to her briskly. "Next."

Meanwhile, the guy at the other desk is nowhere near as organized, his slicked back silver hair falling in his face as he combed once, twice, three times through the filing box before looking back up at Naruto.

"...What was your name again?"

"NARUTO! NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

Emiko steps up to the table and opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off. "Last name?" This guy seemed to like his system.

"T-Tokoto." She stammers, thrown off by his brusqueness. He skims through the file, before pulling one out and jutting it at her. She takes it quickly, and moves to the side so I can step up.

"Last name?"

"Kanzaki."

He pauses- the name caught his attention. Shit.

"As in Tanaka Kanzaki?"

"That's... That's my dad." I try and keep it quiet. He eyes me silently for a moment- it kind of feels like he's looking past my clothes, past my skin, directly into my DNA to make sure I wasn't lying. Finally his gaze rips away and drops down into his box of files, and plucks out my folder.

"Welcome to camp." He says quietly, before looking past my shoulder. "Next."

I quickly skirt from the room, keeping my eyes on the ground. I can hear the ruckus in the office fade as I make my escape-

"You said it was Maka Uzi?"

"UZU! MAKI!"


	2. May 9 - 3pm

"Hey, what was that about?" Emiko trots to keep up, her short legs working overtime to match my strides. We're walking up a path in the woods marked on our map as 'Cabin Road.' It's stifling out, having only gotten hotter since we arrived via bullet bus. I grumble a little— both about the premature summer weather and Emi's question.

"He knew my dad." I pause in front of a fork in the road, one side labeled 'Lake Path' and the other reading 'Cabin Road.' They were very thematic around here.

"Oh… well, he's been kind of a big deal for a couple months now." Emiko fidgets, groping for a tactful way to change the subject. I humor her— it wasn't that big a deal anyway. Some kids were bound to know his name.

"Think our cabins are down 'Lake Path?'" I tease, nudging her toward the right prong of the fork. Her smile returns, and she shoves me back onto the right path. We walk for a few more minutes, and I let the sights and sounds of the forest calm me down. We didn't exactly live in a wooded area, so smelling the earthy forest air was a treat. The mossy smell of warm lake water wafts from the direction Lake Path would have taken us. I was also looking forward to the cabins, and settling into bed. Our schedules told us we had a couple hours to ourselves before dinner, and then we had a welcome bonfire.

We approach the looming cabins— tall log blocks with two stories of windows and classic pointed roofs. They were arranged in a pentagon around the looped path, with a beautiful rose bush as a centerpiece. Each cabin had a huge placard on the front, above the door— Ka, Fu, Rai, Do, and Sui, in order. We enter from between Do and Rai.

Emiko glances at her paper. "I got… Fu Cabin." A grin of relief and excitement swells to the surface— I was glad we were at least in the same cabin.

"Me too! Mom must have arranged that." We head toward the cabin with the bright green sign, and find a college age guy with dark skin and gill tattoos on his neck. He's muscular— I assume he's a swimmer or a surfer, judging from the shark tooth around his neck and beach shorts. Upon seeing us, he grins, and I'm taken aback at how sharkish he seems.

"Hey, I'm Kisame— the counselor in charge of this cabin. You guys are…?" He glances at the blue clipboard in his rough hands, and Emiko pipes up.

"Emiko and Nana." She looks around, and I mimic her. It's a nice cabin, with a sitting area complete with sleek green couches and a tv. I can see a door on this floor marked 'Hinata/Kei.' The stairs near the entrance must lead to our bedroom— I'm not particular pleased to get an upstairs bedroom, but whatever. Kisame finds the names on a paper near the bottom of his stack and nods.

"Yup! Here, I got your keys here." He fishes around and grabs out two shiny silver keys. Emiko grabs them quickly, and hands one to me. I feel its weight in my hands and listen to the illegal dog bark in the next cabin over.

"Okay, the only rules are to not break anything on purpose, and not to go out past lights out, which is 11. You've got your own bathrooms in your rooms, so use those. There are also bathrooms around the camp. Uh….. those don't have showers though." He pauses to think about what else to tell us. "Watch out for bears?"

"Why do we have a guy counselor in a girl cabin?" Emiko asks, squinting. Kisame's dark cheeks flush just a little, and he laughs at the straightforward question.

"They forgot to hire more than one girl, so it is what it is. Don't worry, I don't bite." He grins again, and I feel something cold run down my spine. He didn't need to choose such a fitting metaphor. Emiko looks just as unnerved as me, and I drag her off to our rooms.

"Creepy." She mumbles as we trek up the stairs, and find a door at the top. We also have a sign— Nana/Emiko.

"I dunno, he's… kinda cute." I mutter, trying to keep my voice down as Emiko fumbles with the lock. She pauses to stare at me in slight disbelief.

"All the cute boys in our school, and you come here and crush on the two weird ones."

"Shut up. I am entitled to shit taste." We enter the room to find an impeccably symmetrical loft— windows on the sides over two king size beds, dressers, foot lockers, night stands, lamps, wardrobes and the like. There was a door on the back wall. Emiko and I peek inside— a full size jacuzzi and stand shower, sheltered toilet, and double vanity framed with lights. Emiko's mouth drops open.

"Holy SHIT! My parent's room isn't this nice!" She cackles. "God, can I live here forever?!"

I burst into laughter— this was pretty nice, even considering my family life. I flop onto the right bed, and she claims the left. After rolling around on it, utterly dwarfed by the cushions and blankets, she stops and stares at the ceiling.

"I'm so lucky."

"Shut up. You deserve this just as much as anyone else here."

"No, I don't. I know I've been saying that, but I'm not rich or famous or any of that. This is all thanks to you. And I am so lucky to be friends with you." She sits up to look at me with serious eyes. I knew what she meant. It wasn't the money she was excited about; she genuinely thought she was lucky to be friends with me and me alone. I blush and toss a pillow at her.

"Hey!" She sends one back, and I catch it. It was good to know there were still people who could look at me like I was me.

"Thanks, Emiko. After everything, I…" I can feel my voice waver.

"Shut up! You're gonna make me cry." She laughs, and climbs out of bed. "Let's go introduce ourselves to the people downstairs!"

I roll off the bed and thump onto my feet. "Yeah. That sounds good." I choke back the lump in my throat and force a laugh as we head down the stairs. Kei was down there, dragging in a duffle bag. She wasn't a girl that really stood out, wearing a lot of of gray, drab blues, and black. The timid girl with dark, raven hair and pale blue eyes was there as well—she's gorgeous behind those bangs and small disposition.

"Hey! We're your bunkmates for the summer!" Emiko says, while Kisame futzes around in the background. I think being a counselor for a bunch of girls was making him a little uncomfortable, no matter how easily he seemed to be taking it. "I'm Emiko!"

"M-My name is Hinata Hyuuga." The raven haired girl bows politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Nana." I speak up, waving a little as I sit on one of the green couches. "This is my first time at something like this."

"Me too." Kei nods. "I'm Kei. My parents sent me here to socialize with other rich kids." I cringe a little inside— she was making it obvious she wasn't here voluntarily. Her face scans us darkly, but then lightens just a touch. "But… I might have a little fun here anyway."

I feel my chest untighten. That's right… we were here to have fun. Relax and enjoy our last real summer. Leave drama at the door.

KNOCK KNOCK!

I groan a little to myself; I had to make a door metaphor. Hinata walks over and opens the door timidly, revealing Naruto, Kiba, his little dog, two guys with their hair in ponytails, and… Lee. My heart stops as Naruto perks right up. "Hinata! Great! We were wondering who was in this cabin, dattebayo!" He chirrups— the boy was as bright and cheerful as the sun. He was almost blinding to look at, all tan and blonde and blue eyed. Even his smile was blinding. It should be illegal to have teeth that white.

Hinata rightfully goes weak, face blooming in a deep rose red as he hugged her excitedly. "N-Naruto!"

"Hey, I don't know you guys! You new to Camp Gakure?" He comes over to face us. I feel like I need sunglasses.

"Yeah, we're new." I laugh a little despite myself. His grin only gets bigger, which should be physically impossible.

"Thought so. This side of Gakure has been just for us for years. Like, since we were 12." He juts out a hand, and I shake it awkwardly. Holy shit, his body temperature is through the roof. This guy embodied the actual sun. "I'm Naruto. This is Kiba, Neji, Bushy Brows, and our counselor Deidara."

Kiba raises his hand as his name is said, and the guy with the brunette ponytail nods at 'Neji.' Lee gives a smile just as blinding as Naruto's, and the blonde known as 'Deidara' passes us to go talk to Kisame. I can hear them strike up a conversation containing mostly hushed muttering and stifled laughter.

Meanwhile, Emiko is introducing us. Kei looks a little bored with the whole thing, eyes lingering on Deidara for a while. Her eyes dart away as he looks over at her, however— she's trying too hard to act like she wasn't staring. By time my attention returns to the conversation, everyone is staring at me expectantly. Blood rushes to my cheeks again.

"Uh…"

"And this space-case is Nana." Emiko laughs. "We've been best friends for years."

Lee smiles, and my heart jumps into my throat and seizes my voice box, but I close my trachea before I can say anything stupid. I have to wrestle for control of my tongue.

"Yeah, years." I finally mumble, but they've moved onto other conversation by then. Kiba's puppy is introduced— his name is Akamaru, and according to his master, he's the best hunting dog in the world. He couldn't possibly leave Akamaru home all summer, and besides, everyone had come to expect him here at camp. Emiko lets Akamaru lick her face, and I try to forget that only an hour ago he had puked on the bus.

As we migrate to the couches, Naruto talks about how his mom and dad left him his fortune after they died from a disease called 'Kyuubi.' He was immune, so he was letting scientists test on him now and then. Kiba's family ran the biggest dog food manufacturer in the country. Hinata and Neji were cousins in one of the most influential political families, the Hyuugas. Hinata was on the fast track to becoming a governor's assistant. Neji was interested in becoming a lawyer. Lee was the adopted son of Might Guy, world famous martial artist. I could listen to him talk for ages— he was so passionate. Kei talks briefly about her parents: CEOs for a very popular grocery store called 'Scooters.' When our turn rolls around, Emiko talks about our hometown in Kuma, and exaggerates my new mansion.

"We-we don't need to talk about that, Emi." I mumble bashfully.

"Alright, your highness." She teases, and I feel my blood go absolutely freezing. I pinch her thigh again, on the bruise I left on the bus. She yelps quietly while Naruto mentions that everyone here had a mansion or two, and we both quietly agree.

"Oh, we should probably get to dinner." Deidara says suddenly; I hadn't even noticed him and Kisame join our conversation. How long have we been talking?

Everyone stands and ambles along toward the door. The sun has started to set and the dusky air is starting to cool off. This was my favorite time of day, and my eyes are glued to the multicolored clouds and rainbow gradient atmosphere, slowly turning from fiery gold to royal midnight. I don't even notice who I bump into until my eyes snap from the painting above me to a round pair of eyes, framed with thick eyebrows.

"L-Lee!" I squeak, cheeks flushing again. "Sorry, I didn't see you!"

He just smiles, and shakes his head a little, before looking up at the swirling sunset.

"It is beautiful! I see why you were distracted." He looks back at me. I smile, and feel my chest swell up.

"I love the sky. It's so beautiful at any time of the day in any weather. Sunset is my favorite, but it's beautiful when it's stormy or when it's clear... It's like we're living in the world's biggest painting." I manage to bite my tongue before I can gush anymore, and glance over at him. His eyes are fixed on my face, and I feel my ruddy blush double, even triple in intensity.

"Sorry."

"No, please! Keep talking! You have been very quiet since I met you, I enjoy seeing you open up." His smile is infectious, and I giggle giddily.

We chat about the sky, and then the forest, and a little about the ocean before we reach the mess hall. Today was a barbecue, celebrating the start of camp. The smell of hot dogs, hamburgers, and kebobs wafts through the warm night air. I feel my stomach growl- aside from Emiko's snacks from the bus, I hadn't had a ton to eat today.

"I can grab us some food." I offer Lee.

"That sounds wonderful! Thank you, I will have some hot dogs." He flashes that smile again, and my knees go weak. I quickly trot away to the buffet table, heart pounding. As I fumble taking a styrofoam plate from the top of pile, my mind is racing. He's been to the ocean. He loves the forest after it rains. His favorite time of day is sunrise. Shit, I forgot to ask him what kind of chips he liked, or if he wanted any sides or dessert. Why was he making me so scatterbrained all of a sudden? And more importantly, why was I so happy about it?

I load some hot dogs, ketchup, barbecue potato chips and a few cookies on a plate for each of us, and head over to the bonfire to try and find him again. The sky has been coated in midnight blue ink and glitter- it was amazing how beautiful the stars were out in the mountains.

There he was, bathed in the red, gold, and purple light of the bonfire. He was sitting on a log, waiting for me. I bustle toward him, riding so high I don't notice a few chips falling to the grass.

And then it all comes to a screeching halt.

His attention was focused elsewhere. Very lovingly elsewhere. The rosette from the bus was sitting across from him, blatantly trying to ignore his advances. My heart freezes midair and drops, down, down, down into my toes, and then further. It buries itself in the grass under my sneakers.

I had forgotten.

He likes her. Sakura.

The bustle of the party goes on around me, turning into white noise as voices and laughter blur together. I don't know how long I've been standing here, staring. This was embarrassing.

I turn on my heel. Every step away from him is a lash on my back, reminding me who I was, what my situation was, and what my place was.

New girl.

New money.

Outsider.

Don't get ahead of yourself.

Don't get your hopes up.

I find Emiko talking to Kiba and Naruto, and hand her the extra plate. "Here, I brought you some food!"

My voice is bright and made of plastic, and my smile is painted on. This is a mask I've worn before, many times. Luckily she doesn't have a plate of food yet, so I don't sound like more of an idiot than I already proved myself to be.

I'm sure I participated in many conversations that night, but I don't remember any of them. None of it felt real. Iruka and Kakashi sung a song, and everyone booed them offstage playfully. There was a speech that I only caught syllables from. We might have bonded as a group. I never touched the plate of food I made.

It's way past lights out when we manage to slink back to our cabins, exhausted and smelling like campfire smoke. I manage to shower, brush my teeth, put up my hair, and change into pajamas while wearing my mask.

By then, Emiko had noticed it.

As I climb into bed, she says my name.

"Nana, come here."

I mechanically turn my head to look at her, and walk over to the bed. Emiko looks me in the face, and I can finally feel the mask splinter, and tears bud up between the cracks. God, I'm weak, and over one stupid boy I've known for a day.

"I saw. You got your hopes up again, didn't you?" She asks, and the mask shatters.

"What is wrong with me?" I ask weakly, as hot frustration streams down my face. "I should know better."

Emiko nods. "That's one of the things I love about you, Nana." She pats the sheets.

I climb into her bed and curl up, letting my tears drip on one of her pillows. It's warm from where she's been sitting. I can feel that warmth on my back as I drift to sleep.

I'm lucky too.


	3. May 21

Cool air the smell of gym-floor wax, old sneakers and plaster washes over me as I sit with my back against the wall. It was a little bit ridiculous that this summer camp actually had a rock climbing wall for beginners who didn't want to scrape their hands up on rock.

I glance up the inverted wall and shudder at the height. At the very top, a bright red button the size of a palm tempted anyone who wanted to climb on real rock. We were required to take at least one class with the beginner wall before we could go outside. Emiko was stretching beside me.

"We can do it, Nana. Just loosen up! Gotta stay calm. Nerves of steel." She pretends to crack her neck- she couldn't make that satisfying pop, no matter how hard she tried. I always reassured her it was better for her bones that way.

It's been a couple weeks since my mini meltdown with Lee and Sakura, and I've decided to keep my distance. I see them around, but we never really talk, and I avoid Sakura like the plague. Seeing her breaks my stitches and soaks my gauze with blood— it's unpleasant to say the least. She makes my stomach turn and my brows furrow without my permission. Definitely not good for wrinkles. There was no need to start a relationship here anyway, no matter how polite or sweet or broad shouldered or warm or good smelling Lee was.

"Alright, everyone." The leader of this activity was a young woman with very thick eyeliner, a piercing under her lip, and cobalt hair. Her roots were coming in black— they needed to be touched up soon. She surveys us with eyes that shouted 'I don't want to be here but the pay's good.' "I'm pairing you up for belaying. Make sure your harnesses are tight before you start. Don't mess up."

She does a quick head count, and starts pairing us up. The unpleasant rosette was sitting over with her blonde friend, which I had learned was named 'Ino.' Nearby, Lee and Naruto were chatting about something I couldn't quite make out. Judging by the way he was holding his stomach, Naruto was either sick or hungry. I would put money on the latter.

Our blue-haired facilitator points at Sakura. "One."

She points at Lee. "Two."

Her finger moves to Ino. "Three."

She continues this point and number until she gets to Emiko, and then starts herself over.

"One." She points at me. "Two."

I hold up two fingers, and scan the crowd— finding Lee mimicking my peace sign.

Shit.

He trots over to me, a smile on his face. I take the moment to try and calm my racing heart. Calm. Casual. He didn't know about my breakdown, and he didn't need to.

"Hey, Lee." I work a friendly smile across my cheeks. "Looks like we're partners!"

Duh, we're partners. That was dumb. I'm dumb.

"Yes! Do you want to go over the safety checklist before we begin belaying?" His grin is dazzling as usual.

"I-I think I'm good. I just need to hit that button so I can move on to real cliffs." I turn to glance at the red button. It was taunting me.

"You rock climb?" Lee asks, looking surprised and excited. I shake my head.

"Not like, as a hobby. Just here and there, when my dad..." I hesitate for a split second. "Takes me."

God, he was so easy to talk to. I even voluntarily brought up my dad.

"That is still very impressive! I am sure you will easily scale that wall!" He gives me a thumbs up. "You can go first!"

He looks confident in me, but I'm not as assured. Either way, I'm knotted into the belay rope and standing idly at the base of the wall within seconds. I glance at Emiko, and she grins and gives me a thumbs up as well.

I laugh, despite myself, and start on the wall. My hands grip one rock, then another, as my feet haul me up the studded surface. It's slow going— I haven't done this in a while, and the further up I get, the fewer, smaller, and harder to reach the rocks are.

I force myself not to look down. I cannot get vertigo now. True, I've never really scaled anything quite this high, but I need that button. Now more than ever; I set myself up by telling Lee I wanted to hit it. If I screw up now... Let's not think about it. I focus my attention on my feet and hands. Where's the next rock? I don't know. The wall is starting to invert on me, and my foot is starting to slip.

Anxiety sets in all at once, and I accidentally look down. Holy god, I'm high up. Emiko looks even tinier than normal. I can see Naruto, Sakura and Ino craning their heads to watch, and Lee is shouting something with a grin on his face. I can't quite make it out, but he seems excited.

I am no longer okay with my height and skill level. This was a terrible idea. My knees are starting to shake and my palms are getting sweaty. Very quickly, I shift one hand to grip the rock tightly. Three feet above my head is the red button, but my arms refuse to move. I'm starting to get a little dizzy.

No, no, you can do this. Think of Lee! You told him you can do this! The reassuring comments I'm putting into my head all sound fake and cheesy, and I glance back down again for support.

Sakura is talking to Lee again.

My hand slips and I lose my hold on the wall. Terror clamps down on my heart like a pair of jaws: I am falling.

I don't even hear the scream that slips off my tongue, all I can feel is the air rushing around my back and my limbs spasming for something, anything to hold onto. For five terrifying seconds, I fear death.

And then my harness snaps into place, cutting harshly into my hips and thighs. I slow, and grab onto the rope strung from my belly button. I'm shaking so hard I can barely keep a grip on it, and when my feet touch the ground, my traitor legs collapse under my weight.

Warm, strong arms wrap around me before I can hit the floor, and people crowd with stupid questions like 'are you okay' and 'what happened'. They know what happened, I fell. The less obvious question is 'why?'

I look up at my savior, and see those jet black eyes. He's cradling me like I could break. I don't blame him— I'm shaking like a leaf in a tornado. He touches my cheek gently, and somehow, I'm almost glad I lost my grip.

"Are you alright? Did anything break?" He asks gently. I shake my head. My lip is trembling too, so I couldn't answer him clearly if I wanted to. "Can you stand?"

My legs are still made of jello and rubber, so I shake my head again.

Best decision of my teenage life.

He leans down and sweeps me off my feet, like a princess. Or a bride. My cheeks flush with so much blood I feel they might burst. He's way stronger than I thought he was, and I can feel his muscles ripple under his shirt.

Holy shit.

I hear him tell everyone he's going to the nurse through a fog of nerves caused by my rapid descent, my rapid ascent, and the smell of his cologne. I let my eyes glaze over as I try and calm myself down. By time I come back to the present, we're in the nurse's office, and I'm sitting on a cot with butcher paper under my butt. Lee is fiddling with my harness— which put him right at hip level.

I don't think my cheeks could contain more blood if they tried.

"I-I can do that." I stammer, swatting his hands away gently. He nods.

"If you are sure." He turns to run cool water on his palms, and it's then I notice the very nasty looking rope burn.

Oh god. He had to catch me. And now he's hurt. This is my fault. I have to do something, I have to say something. Groping for an apology doesn't seem to be working, however; how do you say "Sorry about ripping the skin off your hands with my sorry ass" without sounding crazy?

Lee notices my plight, and grins. "Please do not worry! This was my fault, if I had been watching you like a responsible belay partner, none of this would have happened."

Oh yeah. He was talking to Sakura when I fell. I do my best to keep the distaste off my face and shake my head. "I still feel bad. Let me at least wrap them."

"I can wrap them! I actually have my hands wrapped often, due to my training." He smiles and grabs some gauze and bandage out of the first aid kit. I sigh.

"You're so sweet to me." I mumble, fiddling with my harness.

"What was that?"

"I said 'Where's the nurse?'" I lie. I had noticed there wasn't anyone in the little cabin besides us.

"Oh! There was a note on the door that said Iruka was at the lake- someone was hurt falling off the rope swing." He pauses. "I hope it was okay for us to come in here."

I burst into laughter.

"Nice, Lee. Breaking and entering."

He flusters a little bit, indignation evident on his face. "It was detrimental to your health! I am sure Iruka would understand!"

I smile gently. He really was adorable- an open book. I stand and wiggle out of the harness, pulling up my shirt a bit to look at the damage. Very angry looking welts scowl back at me, backed up by the makings of a few pretty awful bruises.

I don't notice Lee staring, and then forcing himself to not stare, averting his eyes with pink staining his cheeks.

"Thank you." I say, glancing over at him. "If it weren't for you, that could have been really bad for me."

He relaxes, and gives his classic grin and thumbs up duo.

"I am glad you are safe." His thumb drops to his side, and a bashful smile replaces his grin. "I would be very sad if you had to go home."

My heart skips several beats in a row, and I open my mouth to ask him to clarify, but just then the door bangs open and Shikamaru slouches into the cabin, holding his bloody nose. Iruka was escorting him.

"Whadda drag."

I groan quietly. It was a perfect Sunday to just be lazy and lounge around, but I was out in the sun, staring up at the biggest death-contraption I had ever seen. It was an obstacle course, consisting of blow up boxing dummies, rope swings, monkey bars, a giant slide, a rock wall, a rope net, several vaulting walls, balance beams, foot tires, a pole with climbing notches, a firefighter's pole, and even a patch of mud with netting over it, all arranged in a circle.

The blue haired woman from the rock climbing class earlier that week, named Konan, was standing in front of it with a whistle and a clipboard, looking a little more lively than her previous bored expression. Her smile was painted in red lipstick and sadism; I feel like she might be a little too excited to proctor this course.

"Alright, kids, warm up, because you've got quite the tournament ahead of you." She purrs, motioning to the course. "I've divided you up into pairs. You're gonna race the course. The winner will move on, the loser runs laps."

Emiko, standing by my side, scoffs. "Great. So we run either way." She mutters as Konan continues. I shush her gently.

A few feet away, I catch wind of Sakura muttering something to Ino. Emiko follows my eyes and listens in as well:

"—yeah, so Naruto sent me a text last night. He invited me to karaoke with him next week, but I turned him down. What a dweeb." She laughs. "No one karaokes anymore, right?"

"Yeah, definitely. The last time I went karaoke-ing, I was like in elementary." The two laugh a little more at how ridiculous the idea was. Emiko's brows furrow, and I smell a storm rolling in.

"Lee tried sending me a text too, but I have him blocked. Still notifies me when he tries though, so like, what's the point?" She pulls her flip phone out of her pocket and glares at it like it betrayed her deepest trust.

"Bushy Brow needs to get over his damn 2nd grade crush." Ino rolls her eyes a little. "You've made it really clear you don't want to date him."

"Yeah, but he's persistent. I'll give him that, at least." She snaps her phone shut. "Unlike Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't want anything to do with me, and it sucks."

"Don't worry, he's shot me down a bunch too." Ino sighs and pulls her hair up into a ponytail. "Too bad none of the other guys around here are cute."

Emiko twitches; she takes heavy offense to that offhand comment. Just then, Konan walks up to them, shoving the clipboard in Ino's face. "Hey, Yamanaka, didn't you hear me? You're up first." She deadpans. "Get to the starting line already."

Ino trots over, sighing melodramatically. "Yeaaaah, I heard you." She drawls, joining a girl with brown mouse buns on the starting line. Konan holds her whistle up, in preparation to blow it.

"Ready?" She shouts, and then releases a staccato shriek from the chrome trinket. The girls take off— mouse buns takes an easy lead, vaulting over the first wall like a ninja. Ino wasn't far behind, though. Her years of cheerleading gave her thigh muscles like a horse.

I take the opportunity to glance over at Emiko. "Who are you racing?"

"Kei." She looks over at the girl sitting in the shade and dreading the laps she would inevitably be forced to run.

"And who am I racing?" I ask sheepishly. Emi laughs.

"You know, you could at least pay attention."

"Like you're one to talk." I huff playfully. "Just tell me!"

An evil grin spreads across her face. "Sakura." My stomach decides it wants to do the calypso just then, and Emi smirks up at me. "You know, if you beat her, it would just prove that you've got the stuff to compete with her."

"I-I'm not competing with her, Emi." I lie, and not convincingly. Emi rolls her eyes, and turns to where Sakura was cheering for her friend.

"Hey, Sakura! Nana's gonna kick your ass!" She sneers. "Try not to break a nail running laps!"

My mouth drops open, and I smack her shoulder a little. "Don't!" I whisper harshly.

Unfortunately, we already have Sakura's full attention. She looks unimpressed, and snorts. "Yeah, okay. I mean, I really doubt it, but you can try. I've been doing cheer for 4 years, and you obviously… haven't."

My pride flares a little at her comment. "And what does that mean?"

"Just that 115 beats 170 every time."

My face goes scarlet in disbelief and rage, and Emiko's mouth drops open. Even Kei looks up to stare. Damn, high school girls are catty. She… she wasn't wrong, but still; that was low. I didn't even weigh 170. I can feel my mouth flap open and closed in search of a retort as mouse-buns beats Ino by a hair. Konan looks over. "Sakura and Nana!"

She stands perkily and gives an acid-dripping smile. I stomp up to the starting line, hands shaking. As she bends into a trap position, she smirks a little. "It's okay, you need those laps anyway."

SCREEEEE!

I take off, blood boiling. I was going to beat her no matter what. My knees scream at me as I launch myself at the first vault, palms slapping harshly against the top of the wall as I vault over, land on a foot, pivot, and take back off down the track. Next are the blow up punching dummies. They're placed pretty close together, and look cemented to the ground. I barrel through them in a blind rage.

I can hear Emiko cheering, but I don't care enough to glance over at her, or even at Sakura. I keep my eyes forward as I scale the rock wall— it was 15 feet tall and I was up it in an instant. A flying leap from the top platform took me into the air, and I latch onto one of the rope swings. I bypass the second one, swinging Tarzan style to the third with fire in my eyes and in my heart. My palms strain angrily at me, but I ignore them. I can deal with blisters and rope burn after this pink demon was running defeat laps.

I land heavily and scramble up the rope netting to the slide platform. It's then I notice Sakura speeding down it. Oh HELL no. My legs shriek at me as I nearly jump off the platform, hitting the harsh metal halfway and skidding to the track. We're neck and neck now, screaming down the foot tires and up the climbing pole. She launches herself onto the third monkey bar, and in desperation, I try the same.

My fingers miss the metal rung by an inch, and I plummet into the rope netting underneath.

I don't remember much of the next few minutes, just rolling limply out of the netting as Konan looked me over, making sure nothing was broken, before sending me to jog with Ino. After a few embarrassing rounds, and I pause to place my hands weakly on my knees and pant. My face was burning from the sun and the last of my dignity leaving my body. A weak, bitter smile creases my face. I was too out of shape for this.

Dammit, she was right. I did need the laps.


	4. June 7

Another weekend has come around. The amber June air is humid and stagnant, with no wind blowing through the bright green trees. The hot air is a little dusty as well, the golden afternoon light reflecting off it. It was almost like breathing honey.

We haven't even hit the core of summer yet.

I look up from my desk to glance outside, thinking about the last few weeks. The activities were fun, at least. I had nothing planned for tonight, so I was probably going to stay at my cabin and write my book. The writing was slow going, however- I felt like I had no inspiration whatsoever.

I groan and slump forward onto my elbows, staring off into space. I can see the dust particles in the air. My fan rotates and whirrs in the background. The noise fills the space, and leaves me feeling a little bored.

Kiba and Emiko were probably out riding again. They had really hit it off, and I was glad for her. I just wish I could hit it off as well with a certain someone.

Speaking of Lee, everything seemed fine, for now. Our relationship hadn't gone anywhere near the border of 'friendship' and 'romance' since that time in Iruka's medical cabin. I groan and kick my legs childishly. It was because the Great Wall of Sakura stood directly on that line, and was refusing to budge. Since the race, she hadn't stopped acting cold toward me.

It wasn't fair. She was the one who made snide comments about my weight and Emiko was the one who started the whole thing.

I sit up and pinch my belly a little. I wasn't exactly thin, but I wasn't... Overweight. The tags on my clothing claim 'plus size.' My mom calls me healthy and beautiful.

If only a certain bushy-brow could see that.

Hell, if only I could see that.

"NANA!" The door suddenly bangs open and Emiko darts in, waving her phone around. I jump at the sudden disruption of my brooding.

"What?!" I exclaim, startled and a little annoyed. She grins and climbs onto my bed. My nose wrinkles a little- she probably still had horse gunk all over, and she was still wearing her shoes.

"Please get off my bed."

"Shut up and listen!" Emiko laughs good-naturedly. "Naruto invited everyone to tonight's karaoke activity! It sounds like it's gonna be a ton of fun, even Kei is going!"

She wriggles her eyebrows suggestively, and I suddenly see her intention.

"Oh. OH." A smile spreads across my face, and I shut my laptop. "Looks like I'm going to karaoke tonight."

I would have gone even if Lee weren't going, I told myself, but having him there WAS a major bonus. I can't tell if I'm lying or not. At this point in the day, boredom, brooding, and writer's block had put my brain through a meat grinder, so I didn't really care. I was just ready to finally have some fun today.

"Hey, let me help you pick out an outfit!" Emiko rolls onto her back, and I snort. Even if she picked out the cutest dress in the world, it wouldn't make a difference, I think bitterly, but smile for Emi anyway.

"You're so cliche."

"You love me."

"Get off my bed."

She finally rolls off, and sniffs her clothes. I can smell the hay and sweaty leather from my desk. "Ew."

"Yeah." I stand and head toward the bathroom. "I get the tub if you want the shower."

"Sounds good. I don't want to soak in horse residue anyway." She starts stripping off her riding gear and tossing it on the floor. I start filling the bath up with steaming water, and toss in a few chamomile tea bags I nabbed from the mess hall. I needed to relax and smell good, and this accomplished both at once. It was rumored tea baths helped tighten skin too. Maybe I wouldn't be so jiggly if I soaked long enough.

Emiko steps into the shower and turns it on, yelping at the cold as it hit her body. I can only see her outline through the frosted glass.

"Why do you do that?" I tease. "Just wait outside until it's warm."

"Waiting is for suckers!" She calls, starting to wash her hair. I can't help but chuckle as I strip down, and step into the water. The heat zings from my toes all the way up my legs, and I sigh in pleasure as I sink into the water.

"Thaaaat's nice."

"That's what she said."

"Shut up." I laugh despite myself, and dip my hair in the water. For a moment, I forget Sakura's voice and I forget laps around the obstacle course.

The rest of the bath is pretty quiet, beside the occasional 'toss me the soap!' Steam fills the room, and the smell relaxes me. I let it fog up the windows into my memories. No need to think about pinkzilla. No need to worry about my weight. No need at all...

"What songs do you think you'll sing?" Emiko asks as the water shuts off. She steps from shower stall, and I contemplate the question as she dries off.

"Haven't thought about it." I decide. "Guess I'll see what songs they have."

"Yeah, me too." She starts to comb her blonde hair out. The heat and steam from the tub is starting to get me dizzy, so I stand up and yank a towel from the nearby rack. Emiko stares at me as I step from the tub, and then glances at her own pear shaped figure.

"God, your boobs are huge."

"Shut up!"

The little red skirt and striped tank top Emiko picked out was quickly completed with a cute necklace, black knee socks and my old high tops. I also had a flower clip in my hair- I thought it looked gaudy, but she had insisted.

"You gave me the power, so I'm using it." She had said.

Now we were heading to the mess hall, painted in a beautiful late afternoon glow. She herself had opted for high waist shorts and a crop top. To me, she could wear a pillowcase and still make it work. Her legs and hips were so beautifully curved, and her short stature made her just as cute as a button.

I rub the extra flab on my hip and thigh, quietly loathing its existence.

Hinata and Kei were with us, and were chatting quietly as they trailed in our shadows. The forest was quiet; the crickets hadn't come out yet, and the birds had settled down for the day. It was tranquil. Late afternoon was one of my favorite times for this reason. Our shadows stretched even longer by time we reached the mess hall, where everyone was grouped. A young man who couldn't have been much older than us was unlocking the door.

"Thanks, Sasori!" Naruto chirrups, and the redhead gives an uninterested grunt.

"Just don't break too much stuff." He says- his voice is surprisingly deep, and gives away his age. Another college age counselor, no doubt.

Everyone floods into the mess hall, chattering excitedly. Sasuke and Shikamaru, a kid with lazy eyes and a messy man bun, drag the karaoke machine out of the maintenance closet and start getting it set up, while Naruto grins at us all. He looks like he's up to no good, and heads over to the serving bar.

"Hey! I have a surprise for everyone, dattebayo!" He calls, and suddenly lifts a huge cardboard box of beer. Some of the people in the crowd groan, and others look excited. My chest suddenly swells with nervous butterflies.

"Oh, come on, Naruto." Sakura snaps at him. "You stole beer again?"

Again?!

"Well yeah! It's been a tradition two years running- drunk karaoke!" He grins.

"Sorry, Naruto, but the last time was... An unpleasant experience, to say the least." Neji, a brunette boy with his hair in a ponytail, says.

"That's not fair!" Naruto frowns. "This'll be our last summer camp, 'ttbayo! Shouldn't we all participate? One last hurrah?"

Some of the skeptical members of the group glance among themselves. Finally, Lee puts his hand up.

"I am usually fervently against underage drinking, but I think that Naruto is right. Besides, some of us are of drinking age." He smiles.

"It's not the underage part that worries us, Lee!" Kiba laughs a little, and the group chuckles. I can't help but wonder what had gone down last time to cause them to all be so hesitant.

Emiko raises her hand. "I'll stay!" She grins. "It sounds like a ton of fun!"

"Me too!" Tenten, the mouse eared girl from the race, smiles as well. I give in and raise my hand in agreement. One by one, everyone decides to stay, even Sasuke and Kei. This was our last summer vacation- why not start it off with a party? Naruto grins and grabs the karaoke book and the bottle opener from the counter.

"Who's first?!"

The world is shifting and swirling a little around the edges. My head is swimming like it's just done a spectacular dive into a pool of alcohol. I've only had two beers. This is ridiculous, I can't be this much of a lightweight...

Everyone has grouped off, with a few loose threads scattered around the mess hall. Hinata and Neji are asleep on the floor. Alcohol tolerance must not run in the family. Naruto and Sasuke are singing a duet on a makeshift stage of veggie crates and plywood planks. I can't make out any of the words. The girls are gossiping drunkly in the corner, except for Kei, who is arguing with Shino about butterflies. I would turn my head to try and find where everyone else is, but I feel like if I did, my brain would pivot in my skull like a ballerina and never stop.

Out of the corner of my bleary eye, I recognize Emiko's crop top pattern, and turn slowly to see what she's doing.

She and Kiba were tangled up on the couch, arms around one another. His lips are pressed to hers messily, and her fingers are grasping his shirt so tightly it might rip. He tangles his fingers into her hair and pulls her head back to kiss her neck. I can't help but think she'll have hickies tomorrow.

Someone taps my shoulder roughly, and look backwards up at them. Bushy eyebrows and a black bowl cut. It's Lee. His cheeks are pink and his eyelids heavy. He looks cuter than normal.

"Hey pretty lady. Wasshu lookin at?!" He slurs. I blink a few times, slowly- he must have been an even lighter weight than I was, because he was /smashed./

"Lookin at a fine piece of ass!" I hear my lips trip over my consonants and can't believe what I'm saying. It's like I had no control whatsoever, and my grip on reality was slowly starting to go.

"Where?" He looks around, and I laugh. It's a bubbly, unfocused sound, like someone dropping a bell.

"Right here." I poke his stomach- and his lightning fast reflexes catch my wrist and pull me against his chest. His breath smells like beer, but even that can't deter his good smell. Goooooood smell. I slump against his shoulder and inhale deeply, cooing.

Being drunk was weird.

"Gosh, it is... So hot." He lets me go and struggles to get his shirt off. I stare shamelessly as he wriggles, letting the scene imprint on my retina.

"I'll say."

He wrenches it off his torso, and starts on his pants. They manage to become unbuckled, unzipped, and dropped to his knees before he stumbles backward and trips, landing on top of a passed out Shikamaru.

I laugh again, and decide that it looks fun, flopping on top of him.

"Ugh... You are... Very heavy." He groans, and suddenly some very bad feelings flood into my body.

I sit up, feeling anxious and nauseous and really pissed off. My skin is so hot that anything touching me might burn. I'm surprised my clothes haven't singed off.

"Well, I am SOOOO sorry I'm not little miss 115!" I yell at him, and then whip around to point at Sakura. "170 is beeeeeeyutiful!" I shout, and stumble towards her with outstretched arms. "I'll...! Snap you like a twig!"

Kei grabs my arm.

"Twigs..." She pauses, then turns to Shino. "And STICKBUGS-"

I wrench out of her grip and fall back on my backside. The resounding thud is heavy and sends a sharp pain up my spine. I glance at the floorboards- one had cracked where I landed.

That was too much.

The emotions I've been harboring in secret bubble to the surface, hot and runny and disgusting like the snot dribbling from my nose. I start to cry, unabashedly. My incoherent babbling is muffled as familiar arms wrap around me and lips press to my ear. Lee mumbles something directly into my brain over and over, like a mantra, before I drift off. It echoes in my canals like music. I won't remember the tune in the morning.

"You are beautiful."


	5. June 21

It's been 2 weeks since the drunken incident. When I woke up the next morning, I had a huge hangover, and couldn't remember a thing. The room was a wreck, and everyone was giggling despite themselves. A few campmates threw meaningful glances towards Lee and I— he was stripped to his boxers and wrapped around me when we both awoke. Neither of us could recall what had happened to get us in that state; and if he did know, he was doing a wonderful job of hiding it. Needless to say, it was a little embarrassing for both of us.

Emiko came away from the night with a new boyfriend and several hickies that had faded by now. Kiba was always over, toting Akamaru with him. He had become such a regular sight in our room that I didn't even mind when he caught me without a bra on; his eyes were always on Emiko anyway. It was sweet, and I was happy for them. A little jealous, perhaps, but happy.

June had set in, and the lake had finally opened up for access a week ago. Everyone was always down at the beach, and I was no exception. I glance around the lakefront at everyone from under my beach umbrella. Kisame had volunteered to lifeguard for today, so he was lounging in the sand and making sure no-one was drowning. Emi tugs at my t-shirt suddenly, coming up from behind me with a wet Akamaru.

"Hey, get in the water!" She grins. Her hair was wet glistening in the sunlight. I grin a little.

"No thanks, I'm working on my tan."

She snorts and raises a dubious eyebrow.

"With a huge t-shirt on, under a sun umbrella? Come on, we picked out the cutest swimsuit possible for you before we came here. Show it off!" She herself was wearing a one piece with cut outs on the sides and ruffles over her chest to mask the lack of boobs. I blush a little.

"I don't know. I'm not exactly as confident as Pinkie and the Brain." I mumble, glancing at the blonde and rosette in question. They were drizzled in suntanning oil and sprawled elegantly in fold up beach chairs, wearing the skimpy, trendy bikinis and gaudy sunglasses.

"Shut up, you're adorable." She crosses her arms, and then grabs Akamaru. "I'm gonna put the wet dog on you if you don't!"

"Okay! Fine! Sheesh! Just put away the weapon of mass destruction!" I laugh, holding up my hands in surrender, and stand, pulling off my T-shirt.

My swimsuit is old fashioned— retro was in this year, which was good for me to hide my tummy. The high waisted bikini bottom was red and white polka dotted, and the bikini top was the heavy duty kind with underwires.

I can't help but feel a little matchy-matchy with Lee— he also decided to wear an old fashioned looking swimsuit, something from the 1940's. It had suspender straps and came up above his belly button, with stripes. He wore it with pride.

I head toward the water and dip a toe in. It was warm from the sun, but not warm enough. Still pretty chilly. Emiko shoves me playfully, and I'm forced ankle deep.

Brr. At least it wasn't freezing. I curl my toes in the sloppy silt and feel it squelch.

"Please tell me it'll get warmer as I go." I deadpan at Emiko, and she grins.

Just then, I'm hit with a stream of lake water, and I shriek involuntarily. Naruto grins from out in the water— he's holding a water gun labeled 'Terf.'

"Naruto Uzumaki! I am going to friggin GET you!" I yell, sloshing out into the lake. He laughs and wades away as fast as he can. The chase is rather anticlimactic due to the water slowing us both down. When I finally catch him, I grab his shoulder and dunk him into the lake. Wrestling with him is quite fun— he's as strong as Lee, being a football player. After he puts up a mock fight, he manages to sling me over his shoulder and toss me deeper into the drink. I squeal loudly and end up with lake water in mouth. It tastes dirty and salty, and I sputter in disgust. "EWW!"

"I WIN!" He yells, and suddenly Lee body slams him into the water. Kiba follows, and suddenly there's a Terf gun war slash wrestling match in the middle of the lake. Emiko tosses me one from the sand, and I fill it quickly, before hitting her with it. She shrieks and flees.

"YOU TRAITOR!"

"VIVA LA RESISTANCE!" My smile hasn't been this big in weeks. My cheeks are starting to hurt from bearing it. Suddenly Lee grabs me around the waist, grinning widely. Oh no, I wasn't about to go for another dip. I squirt him in the face, and he sputters, laughing.

"Hey!"

He chases me around a little, and as he catches my waist again, for a split second I feel flirty and cute. Choji, the chubby guy with big red hair, suddenly picks Lee up by an arm and a leg and virtually suplexes him into the middle of the lake. I stop and stare at the giant explosion of water. Holy cow, he could throw. His eyes turn to me next, gleaming evilly, and my blood runs cold.

"RETREAAAAT!" I shriek, running away. He too chases, me, undeterred by my shots of water and lake debris. Luckily, I'm just fast enough to skirt over to a tree and up into it's branches. He circles the trunk once, but gives up reaching me and goes to prey on the bathing beauties. I watch in amusement as he manages to lift the entire beach chair with Ino in it, and toss her into the water. She shrieks in a blind rage and shivers like a cat that fell in an aquarium. Her normally soft and fluttering hair was like wet cotton plastered on her face. I can't help by laugh as I climb down from the tree.

"Hey!" Emiko suddenly waves her hands wildly, calling everyone over. It takes a few seconds, but soon everyone looking over to where she's standing, next to Kisame under the lifeguard tower. She looks mischievous as normal, crossing her arms over her frilly swimsuit. "Kisame says that he knows a great place to go cliff jumping near here!"

This sends everyone into a topspin— some are looking excited about the idea, some looking nervous.

"No thank you." Ino snorts, a towel wrapped around her bust and around her hair. "I've had enough water for today." Sakura nods in agreement.

"Can some of us just stay behind and not get in the water?" Kei asks, content with reading under her tree.

"Sure, but if you guys die, its not my fault." Kisame shrugs, and I can't help but feel his nonchalance was a little misplaced. Either way, Kisame leads Naruto, Kiba, Lee, Choji, Emiko and I down through the woods. My high tops protect my feet against the brambles, but Emi's sandals give her tons of scratches, and she continues to complain. Kiba finally hoists her onto his back, and she wraps her arms around his neck. Another pang of jealousy streaks through my gut, and I avert my eyes, just a little.

I didn't want to seem like I was unhappy for them, but watching them get all lovey kind of smarted. Emi hadn't even been interested in Kiba the first few days, and I've been borderline obsessed with Lee since I saw him. Maybe I was trying to hard… even though I really wasn't trying at all. Was I just that unlikable? Maybe… Sakura's nasty comment on my weight wisps through my memory, and I groan a little. Lee was so fit, he would probably be more interested in a slimmer girl. Feeling suddenly self conscious, I wrap the towel I'm carrying around my shoulders.

We break through the trees onto the top face of a cliff— the drop off was steep, and the water below was deep enough to jump from up here, Kisame assured us. The further along the cliff wasn't as tall, so beginners could practice going for bigger and bigger jumps. Where we were standing now, though, the cliff was at its steepest— 20 feet high. Kisame told us that there were little alcoves all along the cliff with ladders over the sides, so when we jumped, we could swim over to them and climb back up. "Toes first, be safe, and have fun!" Kisame grinned that sharkish grin at us, before heading over to another chair to watch.

Emiko and I head for the shorter jumps first. 10 feet from here to the water. I'm not looking confident in myself, and Emi can see it.

"You're a great swimmer! Come on, get that towel off and jump in!" She chides.

"Well… you should go first." I say. She rolls her eyes, and shakes her head a little.

"Alright, I'll go first." She turns and gets a running start, her feet pounding the grass as she leapt off the side elegantly. It's like she'd done this before. She enters the water with a quiet splash, and resurfaces a couple seconds later, grinning. Naruto and Lee, who had come over to watch in curiosity, clap.

"See? Easy peasy." She grins and waves, before swimming along the rock to go and find the next ladder.

A naughty smile comes over Naruto's face, and he approaches me with wiggling fingers.

"Naruto…. no, don't you dare…. no, Naruto! NARUTO!" He chases me toward the edge, and I'm forced to jump before he can push me. The wind wraps around me, and I feel a quiet sense of deja vu before my feet hit the water and I plunge under. The water slaps against my soles, and stings harshly, but I quickly kick and resurface, gasping for air. I've ended up a little further down the rock than the others, and suddenly I feel something splash in not two feet from me. The force pulls me under a little, and I tread water desperately to stay afloat.

Then I notice that something is very, very wrong. My face blooms with red and I look around frantically. My bikini top is gone. SHIT, why didn't I think of that? You should never dive in a bikini!

None other than Rock Lee surfaces right next to me, back turned and wiping at his eyes. Oh god he's turning to look at me.

In a moment of panic, I throw my arms around his chest from behind, pressing my breasts against his back.

"Don't move." I hiss, looking around desperately. It was a bright red top with white circles, how could it be that hard to find?! He stiffens and squeaks— any other moment I might have thought it was the cutest sound ever, but I'm hellbent on finding that damn top.

"N-N-Nana?!"

"Shh! Don't call attention to us!" I whisper, slightly manic at this point. "Swim over to this alcove with me."

He quietly obeys my plea, and we hide next to the ladder. Luckily, the water was pretty shallow over here, and we can stand up.

"Lee, don't panic," I start, thinking how hypocritical I was, "But I lost my bikini top."

His back turns red— I can't even imagine what his front looks like. As his back floods with heat, I can feel it on the bare skin of my breasts, and it makes me blush all the harder. As he stammers incoherently, I press my forehead to his back.

"Shit, Lee, focus!" I whimper. This was the worse possible outcome. This wouldn't have been half as painful if Naruto was in Lee's place. "Okay, go find Emi and Kisame. Get them looking for it."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, just go!" I shove his back, and he swims away, dutifully not looking back at me. I can only imagine the conversation he'll have— it plays out in my mind.

Kisame: Lee! Have you been sunburned?

Lee: No! Well, maybe I have, but that is not important! Nana lost her bikini top!

Kisame: …Did you see?

Lee: NO! Well, I felt, but that is not important! She wants you to go find it for her!

Kisame: You felt?!

Lee: NO! Well, not with my hands, but—

I can't imagine anymore. This is so embarrassing. I cup my chest and shiver softly in the little alcove; it was warm out, but the shade of the cliff put a little chill on me. Clouds were rolling in, too... It was probably going to rain soon.

"Nana?" Lee's voice is quiet and gentle as he approaches again. As he rounds the corner, I can see that he's covered his eyes with his hands. "I am coming back. Kisame and Emiko are off looking for your top, and I have come back to be your shield!" He smiles a little under his palms. "It was Emiko's idea!"

"T-thank you." I blush, and he returns to his position in front of me, back turned. The air is quiet for a while, but now that the immediate panic was over, it didn't feel at thick or strained. I rest my head against his back softly, and hum. He still smells so good, even coated in sunscreen and lake water. And he was so warm... It was comforting being around him. My eyelids flutter shut, and my humming drifts off a little.

"Nana?" He asks softly.

"Yes, Lee?" My lips barely move as my voice slips lazily off my tongue.

"Uhm..." He pauses to think about his choice of words. "Do you... Have a boyfriend?"

My eyes fly open, but I make no other movements to alert him that this question surprised me. He was asking me if I had a boyfriend? Now? Talk about timing issues... Maybe he was making sure he wasn't crossing any lines?

"No." I mumble, keeping my voice sleepy. "No boyfriend."

"Oh! Good!" He clears his throat. "I-I mean, rather... A-are you looking for one?"

I stand up straight, no longer resting against his back. "Lee... Are you... Interested?" I ask, my tongue numb with sudden nerves. He stammers, his back turning pink again.

"I-I mean, I suppose I find my time with you enjoyable, an-and you are a pretty young lady, and-" I can't help but yank his shoulder to spin him around and look him in the face. I needed to know if he was serious. This was big for me, and big for him.

We make eye contact, and his face is cherry red, but his eyes are soft and bashful. When they start to wander, he realizes I'm still without bikini top, and they snap up away from my chest. I squeak and press myself to his tummy so he can't see. "You... You want to be my boyfriend?" I ask quietly, staring down at the water. He nods silently, gently wrapping those warm, familiar arms around me.

"Very much." He murmurs, and I can feel his hands shake. He was as nervous about this as me. It somehow put me at ease knowing that.

"Well..." I rack my brain for something snappy and confident sounding, but my tongue fails me. "I want you to be my boyfriend too." The words are awkward and sound like they're coming from a first grader, but I don't care. Our hearts are racing and our cheeks are burning, and we stand in the embrace for a long time, enjoying the feeling of reciprocation.

"Hey! I found your-" Kisame suddenly rounds the corner holding my top, and sees us. I gasp and snap away from Lee; forgetting for the umpteenth time that I wasn't wearing a bikini top. Both their faces light up red.

"Uh, wow."

"GIMME THE DAMN TOP ALREADY!"


End file.
